


Under Your Spell

by Ryuichi



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, F/M, Saeran x Main character, Spoilers, Trigger Warnings, Unknown (Mystic Messenger) Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-04-07 11:44:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14080191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryuichi/pseuds/Ryuichi
Summary: Mashiro has always been living the quiet and boring life of a herbalist until one day a mysterious white-haired young man entered her shop asking for her help. Mashiro agrees to help without hesitation, not knowing what she was about to get herself into.





	1. Lavender

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fantasy AU! And... my first fanfiction ever! ^^; I've always wanted to write a Mystic Messenger fantasy AU and finally found the motivation to do it. I'm planning it to be in chapters but I have no idea how many for now. Also, English isn't my native language, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes that you might encounter. I hope, you, the person reading this right now have fun while taking the time for this lil' fanfiction and thank you so much!

The young red-haired boy looked at the shimmering crystal in his hand and forced a smile. The sun was slowly making its way up into the sky bringing another repetitive and busy day. Still, the red-hair was supposed to be grateful that he had roof over his head, he was supposed to be happy that he had the security any other person in his place wouldn't. He was supposed to.  
The crystal’s colours increased in numbers, showing that more members had joined. It was very early in the morning, so was probably just Jaehee and Jumin discussing today’s upcoming tasks. Seven smiled at the thought of that, this was something he was truly grateful for.  
Seven quickly cleaned up his desk, putting aside all the dusty books, all different in colour and size, potion ingredients, all the vials and small bottles, but more importantly, he put and locked away all of his thoughts that often attacked his mind whenever he left it unoccupied.  
The redhead looked around and was ready activate the crystal when he noticed the desk was not even close to what anyone would call clean – there were herbs and magical dust all over it and on the floor, the books were just a disorganized pile and all of his sketches of new inventions or writings, of formulas and spells, were in such a mess that even Seven himself couldn’t tell what’s what. Mary Vanderwood wasn't going to pleased when she’d come to check up on him at noon just like she did every day.  
Finally, the young wizard rose from the chair he’s been sitting on since five o'clock in the morning, and walked up to the fireplace, plopping down on the carpet with the crystal in hand shining even brighter in that dimly lit part of the room. The fire in the hearth was nearly dead, but Seven quickly brought it to back to life with one snap of his fingers. Then the wizard pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and gently touched the top of the crystal. The miracle started to unfold. He often called it a miracle because it still managed to fascinate him even after all the years that had passed. A real device that helped you get your messages through a person at a great distance, and all that was needed was his exceptional skills as an inventor and a little magic. Seven called it a Messenger although his first suggestion was God Seven’s Great Messenger Space Machine, GSGMS for short, he had said, but no one was really keen on the idea with Jumin noting that space had nothing to do with in the first place. In fact, it really did, Seven had enchanted a star that connected all the crystal and sent the messages to one another. He then enchanted the crystals using a Talk-to-me spell which was originally cast on people, but Seven managed to make it work. And through those magical devices the members of the RFA often communicated with each other, although all of them preferred to meet at the Cat’s Eye tavern which was every member’s favourite place to go even though some of them really disliked its name.

Seven made the occasional jokes, mercilessly teasing Jaehee and listening to her rant about Jumin’s usual morning antics. Every day, Lord Jumin Han would refuse to come down for breakfast until he had observed Elizabeth the 3rd’s waking up routine which, in his opinion, was one of the few most beautiful things in the world. That morning was no different, despite Jaehee’s numerous warnings that if Jumin delayed any further he would fail to complete today’s tasks. These were Seven’s usual conversations in the early mornings, no matter how trivial and mundane they were, or how sometimes both of the members didn’t understand a word he said, the wizard was grateful and in these brief moments when the crystal showed the short and curt replies of Jaehee, the painfully honest and sharp ones of Jumin’s, he was happy and content, reminding himself that’s probably more than he deserved.  
The conversation soon ended, leaving Jaehee already mentally exhausted but successful in making Jumin to finally have his breakfast. Seven put the crystal in the pocket of his black robe and stood up, to face the small windows at the other side of the room. Two small rays of sunshine were peeping through the heavy dark draperies. The day was starting regardless of Seven’s unreadiness for it, there were still a lot of formulas to perfect, many spells to research and potions to make, Vanderwood wasn’t going to wait for him forever and even less would the Circle. So Seven turned his head away from the windows and headed farther into the room to his personal library, to find more dusty books in which to bury his head into.

 

Every morning Mashiro woke up just a few minutes after the first rays of the sun to see them tentatively touch the wooden ceiling of her small room. She would spent some time lying in bed, trying to wake herself up, until the rays would change from two transparent lines to wide and glowing streaks of light.  
Finally, Mashiro is fully awaken but still a little sad to leave the warmth of her bed, as her feet touch the cold floor. Then Mashiro began her usual routine, the same she had been following for years after moving into that house.  
She quickly changed into a freshly washed pair of clothes – a simple long light brown dress, the sleeves ending at her elbows and a short white apron covering the front of the dress. The simple clothing of a herbalist always suited Mashiro best, and she rarely wore anything different, even when she wasn’t working and that nearly never happened. Being a herbalist has always been most of Mashiro’s life, if not her whole world, especially after her grandparents passed away. They left her that house with a garden, their shop and all their knowledge about healing herbs, how to make medicine, remedies and all sorts of ointments and salves. And the young herbalist was passionate about her work, she was happy to learn the names of the herbs whilst helping her grandmother tend to the garden everyday, or while she went out on walks in the woods with her grandfather where he would point at a herb and wait for Mashiro to name it. Now when she went to the kitchen every morning, which had started to be used more and more for making medicine than for cooking, the smell of dried herbs and jars of salves would always bring back memories of little Mashiro climbed up on one of the old wooden chairs, so half of her body reached the counter where her grandmother crushed the leafs or roots of some plant explaining their effects and use while the sound of bubbling pots filled the room, merging with the old woman’s voice creating that calm and serene atmosphere Mashiro could never really create on her own. Perhaps because she was too engulfed in crushing leafs, grinding roots or peeling bark to pay any attention, or because she was… alone. Even though Mashiro was genuinely happy she was doing what she loved for a living, the young girl felt something was missing, this feeling was taking a small part in Mashiro’s heart but it was always there creeping on her whenever she happened to be alone with her thoughts, and started feel like it was something important, although small. Like the only piece that was needed for the puzzle to be complete.

Mashiro skimmed through the list of the missing things from the shop and got to work. There were just a few salves and powders, she never left things become too depleted – you never know when more customers than usual would show up.  
After everything was done, the herbalist put everything in a basket and exited the house, heading further into town where the shop was situated. It was a small place, not too far from the marketplace but not too close, either. There were nothing more than just ordinary houses surrounding it, save for the bakery a few buildings away and a flower shop right across the street. She knew all of her regular customers and the people that just passed by, Mashiro knew by face, so she was a bit surprised when a young man entered the shop, just a few minutes after it was opened while Mashiro was placing everything from the basket on the shelves behind the counter. Mashiro stopped to bid him a good morning, but mostly so she could take a better look. He seemed not much older than her, wearing a black cloak that was covering most of his body, white hair, thin lips that slightly curled upward as he answered her greeting, and striking mint green eyes that were now looking around the shop and occasionally throwing a glance at Mashiro. For a while he just stood there, not taking an interest in anything in particular but certainly seeming as if he was looking for something.  


“Can I help you?”, Mashiro offered coming out of behind the counter.  
He glanced at her as if contemplating his next words.

“Yes, would be so kind to give me something for headaches?”

Mashiro blinked at him in response. She was surprised to hear that, looking at his unusual appearance and feeling that mysterious aura around him, Mashiro expected him to ask for anything but herbs for headaches.

The man slightly raised his eyebrows waiting for an answer. Mashiro snapped back to reality nervously wiping her hands on the apron.

“Uh, yes, how about...”, she walked up to the shelves on the other side of the store and scanned the first row. “How about lavender? It really helps for headaches and it makes for a great tea.”  
Mashiro turned around holding the jar full of dried lavender blossoms, and looked at the man. He was… smiling. Not a very visible smile but a smile nonetheless. Mashiro tilted her head, a quizzical look on her face that made the man to look away in embarrassment.

“Ah, yes, thank you, I’ll take it”, he answered with his head still turned away.

It was Mashiro’s turn to smile as she headed for the counter to pack the herbs. She took a handful of the blossoms and put them in a brown linen bag. Mashiro noticed shades of red faintly tinting the man’s cheeks as he approached the counter to take the bag from her hand. Then he wished her a good day and left, his presence to still lingering in the air.  
Mashiro let out a sigh. She recalled every moment of his brief visit, as she put the jar back on its place. And found herself still thinking about him as she was getting ready to close the shop, and on her way home, and when she went into the woods to pick out some lavender. The herbalist took a blossom in between her fingers stopping her work and just starting at it absentmindedly until her visioned became unfocused. There was just something about that young man. Or maybe because her life was so dull and unexciting that this slightly unusual person was able to throw her mind in a minor disarray. It was as if in that moment Mashiro realized she wasn’t exactly content with her way of living. Yes, she had a roof over her head, food on her plate but that was it. There was absolutely nothing else to it and for the first time in her life, that started to really bother the young herbalist. That feeling no longer took just a small part of her heart, it had taken over it, that piece was suddenly the whole puzzle.

 

Ray was walking with fast but measured steps holding the little linen bag. The smell of lavender was still lingering in his nose as he made his way through the crowd of people on the busy market street. She was perfect, he thought. He had chosen the perfect person. Ray smiled to himself putting the bag in the pocket of his robe. The Savior was going to be proud and the young man quickened his pace to inform her of the great news.


	2. A favor

The sun was shining brightly in the sky, too brightly for the young and tired apprentice who was dragging his feet across the street. It was noon, so most of the walking people along with Yoosung were most likely heading for the tavern, and that included him as well.  
He stopped to adjust his heavy bag full of all sorts of books and writings, and continued his slow pace squinting his eyes at the road ahead that was being illuminated by the sun. His back and eyes were hurting, a terrible heading had been torturing him since the moment he opened his eyes that morning, and Yoosung just couldn’t wait to get to the tavern and order a cider, a nice and, hopefully this time, cold cider. He was nearly there, no more than fifty meters after the turn of this street and he’d be able to see it, The Cat’s Eye tavern, with its blue painted roof and a giant cat eye hanging above the entrance. It was Jumin’s property after all.  
Yoosung walked in the already full tavern, and immediately after closing the door felt the cooling air ease off his headache. The ambiance at The Cat’s Eye tavern was as if adjusting itself with the weather outside, it was always cool and calming during the hot seasons, but warm and cozy during winter, creating that homely and inviting atmosphere few taverns in the town had.  
Yoosung sighed with relief and turned his eyes at the very back of the tavern. And they there they were. The RFA members had gathered at their usual spot and Yoosung could even hear Seven’s loud laugh outshout all the other people in the room, some of them sending him threatening glowers. Yoosung headed for their table with much more vigorous pace than before, ordering a cider while walking pass by the bartender.  


“This is just ridiculous!”, were the first words Yoosung heard, coming from the visibly annoyed Zen who had folded his arms taking a defensive position.

“And why would you say that? I can do it, I have the power and resources”, retorted Jumin with a cold and harsh tone swiling the wine in his glass.

Zen’s face became completely red before Jumin had even finished his sentence.  


“It’s not about that! You can’t just… up and make everything paw-shaped!”

“Paw-shaped?”, asked Yoosung taking a seat next to the considerably worried Jaehee.

“Ah, hello, Yoosung”, she greeted as curtly but kindly as ever.

“Ohh, if it isn’t the greatest card master!”, exclaimed Seven putting a hand around Yoosung’s shoulders.

“Seven, stop this!”

“Paw-shaped!”, shouted Zen.

“What’s this all about, anyway?”, Yoosung asked again trying to escape out of Seven’s tight grip.

“Mr. Han says he wants to make everything here in paw shapes”, answered Jaehee reaching up a slender finger to push the eye glasses up the bridge of her nose. “That includes all the windows, the door and… the food.”

“Isn’t that a little extreme, Jumin?”, asked Yoosung.

“Yes! Yes, it is!”, Zen chimed in slamming a hand on the table and nearly spilling his drink.

“Zen, you should calm down...”, said Jaehee.

“I don’t see how this is extreme”, stated Jumin placing his glass on the table, far away from Zen’s reach. “I think it would perfectly suit the name of the tavern.”

“Yes, yes!”, said Seven clapping his hands and finally releasing Yoosung. “I’m with Lord Jumin! Paw-shaped everything! Paw-shaped mugs and paw-shaped beds!”

“Excellent idea, Luciel”, said Jumin, his glittering with eagerness eyes being the only facial expression he could show. “Assistant Kang. Write this down.”

“Mr. Han… don’t you think that would decrease out profits?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well”, stuttered Jaehee trying to think of some example. “It would be extremely difficult to eat or drink from such silverware and even more so, to sleep in such beds. Not to mention the difficulty the visitors would have walking through a paw-shaped door.”

“Hmm”, Jumin put a finger on his chin and stared absentmindedly at the door, reflecting on Jaehee’s words. “It would seem you’re right. All right. I cancel this project.”

The three members sighed in relief except for Seven, who folded his arms his lips forming an exaggerated pout.  


“But this idea was great! Can you make my door paw-shaped at least?”

“No.”

“Come on, Lord Jumin Han, please, please, pretty please with a cherry on top”, continued Seven placing his hands together as if for a prayer.

“No. I can’t walk those underground streets. It’s not appropriate for a lord to do such things”, explained Jumin.

“Oh, Lord Jumin! Please, grace my pathetic little house with your presence.”

“I already said no and explained my reasons, I shan’t talk on this matter any further.”

Seven clutched his heart and dramatically sprawled on the table. The same moment, Yoosung’s cider finally arrived and he snatched it out of the tray, almost knocking it over, earning himself a scolding from both Jaehee and the old lady serving the drinks. But the young boy couldn’t care less as he chugged his drink on one go and sighed with a satisfied expression.  


“Ah, I was so tired”, he said putting hands on the table to rest his head on his palms.

“Well, that’s no surprise”, Jaehee was quick to say. “As I understand, you’ve been here almost all night playing that card game again.”

“Wizards and Dragons!”, Yoosung’s eyes lit up upob the mention of the game. “And those are magical cards, Jaehee, not just your ordinary cards.”

“Magical or not, that’s all you do all the time and it’s ruining your life”, added Zen profoundly.  
“How could you even say that? Those cards are doing the exact opposite!”

“Are they really magical?”, asked Jumin suddenly getting interested in the conversation, no doubt finally leaving his world of paw-shaped objects.

Yoosung grinned mischievously and was just about to open his mouth to answer, when Seven interrupted him.  


“Of course! Who do you think made them?”, Seven winked and looked at Yoosung for his reaction.

“What? It has the company’s seal at the back of each card. Don’t lie to me, Seven.”

Seven laughed triumphantly and slowly pushed his glassed up, his face stretched in an evil grin.  


“I gave them the idea. Haha! And in return, they payed me one thousand jars of sugar dust.”

“You mean powdered sugar”, corrected him Jaehee.

“No. Sugar dust.”

Yoosung waved his hand, clearly not believing any of Seven’s words.  


“I might have believed you if you hadn’t mentioned all this "sugar dust" nonsense”, remarked Zen and then taking a swill of his beer while throwing skeptical glances at Seven behind the rim of his mug.

Jaehee’s brows were furrowed in irritation while Jumin thoughtfully took in every word.  


“You don’t believe me?”, asked Seven raising his brows up and down.

“Of course, I don’t. I know who made these, you can’t trick me this time.”

“This is very interesting”, stated Jumin. “If they really are magical I wish to see these cards.”

“Mr. Han...”

“But I also think you couldn’t have made them, Luciel”, he also added. “I don’t think your masters at the Circle would let you play around that much, let alone with something so useless.”

Seven let out a mysterious chuckle and his glasses practically glinted.

“Maybe! Maybe! Maybe! Who knows!”

“Please, Luciel, be quiet”, said Jaehee wincing at Seven’s shouting.

“This reminds me”, said Jumin taking a more businesslike posture than his previous relaxed one. “You still haven’t told us in which Circle you are involved in.”

Seven stopped fidgeting and glared at Jumin, a sly look in his eyes.  


“And I shall not tell you”, he returned dramatically. “It’s a… secret!”

“Is it the Royal Circle?”, Jumin pressed.

Seven shrugged his shoulders, nonchalantly throwing glances at every side of the room.  


“The Second Wizard Circle?”, asked Yoosung.

“Why wouldn’t he tell us if he’s in that one?”, said Zen. “No one keeps it a secret if they’re from the Second Circle. I bet it’s the… Dark Wizard’s Circle.”

Everyone gave out noises of disagreement.  


“That would be low even for Seven”, said Yoosung.

“I think it’s quite impossible actually”, added Jaehee. “Have any of you met a Dark wizard? They’re not nearly as quirky and energetic as Seven.”

“Oh, oh, everyone is so curious!”, exclaimed Seven, excitedly throwing his hands in the air.

“Yes, so just tell us already!”, Zen retorted but Seven just shrugged his shoulders continuously and pretended as he’s locking up his mouth with an invisible key and throwing it behind him.

The four members sighed in unison and the wizard laughed triumphantly. Trying to guess something about Seven’s work had become one of the main activities when the members were gathered in the tavern. Needless to say, they were always unsuccessful or interrupted by Seven’s suddenly leaving which was often because they were asking too many questions for him to be able to bare. It wasn’t like he didn’t want them to know, it was simply dangerous to even mention that Circle’s names. There were many wizards in the town, as big as it was, and every one of them was a member of a certain Circle. There were many illegal or criminal ones and Seven was in the middle of it all. He was part of the Underground Circle, where they used magic for obtaining personal and important information and very often, not in the most cleanest of ways as much as that could be possible. As illegal and wrong as it was, everybody used it, nobles, commoners, even members of the royal family, that’s why authorities closed their eyes to it. Some authorities, anyhow. So Seven had to be careful and not risk anyone, not even the members, to know what he was involved in. After all, that was the only way he could continue living in this world. They deleted his identity, practically, he wasn’t even existing anymore, but they gave him shelter and protection. And in return, he had to offer them his magic. Still, despite everything Seven was good at his job, born with skills no wizards had. It was the ability to connect with celestial objects and draw power from them. While all other wizards used mana for casting their spells, Seven used the natural energy of stars, making his spells much stronger and in a way different, allowing him to manipulate and change them however he wanted. He was the seventh known wizard to have such exceptional skills.  
After that the conversation moved onto more light topics, such as Yoosung’s bad sleeping habits or Zen’s new role in the town’s biggest theater. Naturally, the latter topic expanded into quite the discussion with everyone giving their opinion, no matter whether it was unwanted or not.  
Yoosung was starting to doze off, with his head still in his palms, the young apprentice now started dreaming about his bed which he wasn’t going to see anytime as he had to go back to his lessons as soon as the break ended. He frowned at the thought of that, and chased it away from his mind, trying to focus on the conversation the members were having that was quickly turning into an argument after Jumin’s blunt comment. He had said that in his opinion, Zen wasn’t exactly suitable for that particular role, which immediately ticked Zen off, resulting in more table slamming and one spilled drink.  
Yoosung let out an annoyed sigh and decided he didn’t want anything to do with that conversation, so he started rummaging through his bag looking for his cards. He thought that maybe if he showed them the cards they’d finally understand the reason for his strong passion and more importantly, to prove Seven wrong.  
The cards weren’t there, Yoosung checked, and doubled checked but they just weren’t there although he was absolutely sure he had put them in the bag the same morning. In the end, Yoosung got angry and just emptied everything out of the bag on the table earning himself an angry glare from Jaehee. He smiled apologetically and turned his eyes at the table just in time to see his magic crystal falling off the edge. Seven let out an ear-piercing scream and caught the crystal just before it hit the ground.  


“What are you doing, Yoosung!? Do you know how hard is this to create? And to enchant?! Hm?!”

“S-sorry, Seven...”, said Yoosung sheepishly, his eyes downcast with shame.

“Mhm! You better be careful, I can’t be around all the time to save you.”

“I don’t need you to save me”, he returned puffing his cheeks and snatching the crystal out of the wizard’s hand.

Yoosung brought the crystal up to his eyes to check for any damage and saw nothing but a tiny golden streak running across the crystal. Good. No damage. Yoosung sighed relieved and was about to put the crystal back in the bag. Wait. He looked at it again and there it was, a glowing in gold streak crossing the crystal. Yoosung looked at every member, but no one was using their crystals.  


“Uh, Seven, I think something’s not right with the crystal.”

“Huh?”

 

The young man visited Mashiro’s shop again the following week and the week after, and twice again on the third week, making up all sorts of excuses for his frequent visits. Mashiro was glad, although they didn’t talk about anything but herbs and how to prepare tea, she was content and excitedly waiting for him to show up every week. The herbalist often thought about him when she went out in the woods to gather herbs, especially lavender. The second week he had come explaining that he actually had no idea how to make tea and Mashiro was more than happy to show him, while he repeatedly thanked her and even insisted on paying.  
As short as his visits were, Mashiro tried to understand as much as she could about him, although she didn’t ask him the simplest thing one should ask when wanting to know someone better – his name. She had wondered, of course, but had this feeling that she shouldn’t ask him just yet, that if she dared to break out of the borders of the simple and innocent talking, the magic Mashiro felt would just disappear. She was happy to just be in his presence as he shyly asked for the meaning of a herb or curiously observed some of the salves, until Mashiro would come and start to explain its use. And from all that, she couldn’t understand much other than that he was shy, rather quiet but most of all kind. Kindness exuded from every little action and every spoken word, always accompanied with a smile both on his lips and in his eyes, like two rays of sun illuminating Mashiro’s face. She wasn’t sure whether he was really coming because of the herbs or… her, but secretly hoped it was the latter. He brought that new excitement in the young herbalist’s life she never really had before, there was no passion in what she did, just the quiet and perpetual contentment for doing what she liked. But now she impatiently looked forward to each day, wondering when the mysterious young man would show up again. He had brought much needed and very new happiness into the girl’s life. Which was probably why Mashiro didn’t even dare to hesitate when he came again for the fifth time asking not about herbs, but for a favor.  
It was very early in the morning, a rainy and gloomy day that had chased away all the people from the streets. Mashiro was sittibg behind the counter, listening to the pitter-patter of the rain and thinking about the low probability of any customers showing up that day. There were hardly any at all during that time of the year when there weren’t that many illnesses to cure. So all Mashiro could do was wait for the days to go by and stock up on everything she’d need for the winter. And during days like these Mashiro sat down and did embroidery. Her grandmother had started to teach her since the moment she could hold a needle without pricking her finger, and Mashiro had mastered it pretty well. Naturally, most of the embroidery was all sorts of plants, including flowers, though there were a few of the neighbors’ cat which would often sit on the kitchen’s window sill and watch Mashiro work until she’d let her in. But now Mashiro was embroidering the Lobelia plant, although its use wasn’t exactly of that to heal, it was very pretty, a complete opposite of what it was used for.  
Mashiro was half way through being done when she stopped, bringing the embroidert farther away from her face, so she could take a better look and smiled at her work. That moment, the door of the shop opened, letting in the strong breeze and a whiff of rain smelling air. Mashiro lifted her head up and her smile grew wider. It was the mysterious man again. He was wearing the same black robe but he had lifted his hood to protect him from the rain, although Mashiro could still see water drip from his bangs starting form a little pool on the floor. His mint coloured eyes were as if sparkling with anticipation, standing out even more amidst the dim atmosphere of the shop, his presence usually exuding peacefulness and serenity, was now making the air heavy with suspense.  


“Mashiro”, were his first words. The girl’s eyes widened and her brain started to race, trying to recall the moment she had mentioned her name. But nothing came to her mind, Mashiro was sure she would have remembered that. She looked at him and thought she probably had to start to be suspicious of him, to demand right now how the hell does he know her, to feel scared even. But none of these feelings came upon her, only curiosity and surprise.

“Mashiro, I know I’ve probably scared you by telling you this”, he continued taking a few steps forward towards the counter. “But I need your help about something only you can help with.”

He probably expected to ask him something or just outright refused, but she didn’t. Mashiro just continued to stare at him expectantly.

“There’s a place… and people that need your help. I’ve been watching you, I mean, while I was visiting your shop, and I think you’re the only who could do this. I’m part of an organization that helps people, they helped me before, when I was alone and lost, they showed me the right path and now I’m happy. But we’ve found people who are too helpless and we can’t help them on our own, I will tell you the details later, I promise, but all of this is a for a good cause. I want to help these people and I want you to help me help them. Come with me and I’ll tell you everything, if you don’t like the idea you can leave, whenever you want, no one will stop you, but for now… please, trust me and come with me.

There was desperation in his voice, in his eyes, his lips were slightly parted, the air from his lungs coming out in small puffs, the mint coloured eyes didn’t look that mysterious anymore, just two pleading eyes, expecting an answer.  
Mashiro listened to everything, her gaze transfixed on him. And after he finished, she just stared at the man not knowing what to think or what to say, she just felt something. She felt this inexplicable force drawing her to him  


“What is your name?”, she asked and by the look on his face that was probably the last thing he expected her to ask.

“It’s… it’s Ray.”

“Ray”, Mashiro said quietly and her eyes traveled around her shop, her whole world confined in the walls of this place.

The young girl knew that she could very well live like this her whole life until she dies and no one would remember her. The need and desperation in her heart were probably greater than Ray’s, the loneliness that she had been feeling, started to grow bigger with every visit of the young man, and now had suddenly become unbearable, the cozy and homely atmosphere that Mashiro felt every time she entered her shop, had started to feel suffocating. Her whole being was asking for this change and Ray was her chance, her only chance to escape the cage that was her life, this never ending cycle of the doing the same things over and over, every single day. Mashiro had every right to be suspicious, perhaps the wisest thing to do the was refuse and tell Ray to leave her shop at once. But she did none of these things, they barely even crossed her mind as if she was thinking about something completely minor.  
Mashiro came out of behind the counted and walked up to Ray who was still intently staring at her.  


“I trust you, Ray. I trust you and I will come with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was ended on a bit of a cliff hanger, but I hope you all liked it. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ


	3. One too many

Often when Mashiro would think back on what she did, the girl often thought how stupid and reckless she had been. To trust a stranger with her life, take every word he says as nothing but the truth, to not have a single shred of doubt in someone she had met only three times. To give a favor that would change both of their lives. Because of that, no matter how many times Mashiro thought to herself how reckless her actions were, she never even once regretted it.

Ray looked at the girl standing in front of him, her eyes full of determination to trust him, to accept his words and come with him. Surprise and shock were bubbling in his chest as he watched her say those words. I trust you, she had said. Ray expected reluctance, refusal, he even thought he might have to drag her by force, but to have her agree without hesitation was more than he ever imagined. All of that just proved his choice couldn’t have been more right. He should have known after the Savior gave her approval, she knew better than anyone after all, so Ray shouldn’t be have been so surprised. And yet, it almost seemed like a miracle to him. The only miracle, he thought to himself, but it was more than he could ask and hope for. Ray felt like crying, but he wasn’t allowed to do that now, he had to appear strong for her, to show her that he’s someone she can really trust to protect her. He cursed himself for being so weak and bit back the tears as he watched her prepare to close the shop. It didn’t take long, and when he asked her if she wants to go to her house to take something Mashiro just shook her head and looked at him expectantly. A small wave of excitement came over him seeing her readiness and that flame of determination burning even brighter in her eyes.  
The rain was falling down even stronger than before but Ray had thought everything through. He gave her a cloak, much like his but a bit smaller in size, to protect her from the rain. Ray explained that they had to travel for a while but that he was going to be beside her the whole time and that there was nothing for her to worry about. But there was one last thing, one last obstacle. Ray swallowed hard as anxiety started to take over his excitement, he had to ask one more thing of her and almost felt guilty after realizing through how much he was making her go through now, at the very beginning. But he had to.  
“Mashiro,” he said when they were in the carriage. “There’s one more thing I need you to do. You have to wear this.”  
Ray held out a piece of black clothing in his shaking hands as Mashiro inspected it. It didn’t take her long and for a moment Ray thought he saw hesitation, just a flicker but he noticed it. A pang of fear shot through his heart but it was quickly scattered away.  
“Okay,” she said so quietly, her words were almost completely swallowed by the loud raindrops falling on the carriage’s roof. But Ray heard them. He carefully tied the cloth around her head watching for the knot to not be too tight. Mashiro stiffened when her vision was completely blocked, she readied herself but it still caught her off guard when complete darkness fell over her eyes. She felt Ray sit next to her and took comfort in his presence. He then called to the driver and carriage started to move. There were a quite a few turns but after a while they were just moving at a straight line. Mashiro thought that must have meant they were out of the town, her chest tightened with anxiety having not expected the places he’d take her to be that far away. She started asking herself where exactly that place could be. In the woods? In the town nearby? And why was it such a secret? The young girl tried to compose herself, and trying to focus on the sound of the falling rain.  
After a while that seemed like ages to Mashiro, Ray announced that they’d arrived. He opened the carriage’s door letting in the cold air and Mashiro heard him getting out.

“It’s a bit high,” he said. “Here, take my hand.”

Mashiro lifted hers trying to find his and was immediately met by his warm fingers, closing around her hand gently but firmly as if he was holding something fragile and trying not to drop it.

“Thank you,” Mashiro said as she climbed down the little steps of the carriage.

“I’m the who should be thanking you,” he returned and by the sound of his voice Mashiro felt he was smiling. “Please hold onto my hand a little longer until we reach your room since you don’t know the way and you might trip. There’s still some construction material left from when the place was being built. I should tell them to clean this up.”

Mashiro felt the familiar touch of gravel under her feet as soon as they started walking. She tried to conclude something from that but quickly gave up, many places can have gravel and for now she just told herself to be patient.  
As they walked, Ray talked about all sorts of things – how he had prepared a room specifically for her, that he had decorated and chose everything and she wouldn’t miss her home at all because he’d give her anything she needed. Mashiro smiled at his eagerness and was about to give her thanks again when her feet landed on something that definitely wasn’t gravel making trip. But she didn’t even have time to panic, Ray tightened his grip on her hand and Mashiro remained on her feet. They stopped.

“Are you all right?” his voice sounded concerned.

“Yes, thank you, Ray.”

“Agh, I should really have them clean all this up. It’s dangerous.”

Soon after that Mashiro started climbing some stairs with Ray guiding her through every step. Then they started walking in a straight line, their steps silenced by a soft carpet under their feet. Mashiro heard some voices but as soon as she started hearing them more clearly they’d stop and it would be only the muffled steps of their feet on the carpet again. Then Mashiro heard a door opening and Ray ushered her in, closing the door behind them.

“We can take this off now”, Ray said, she felt him move behind and soon after the cloth fell from her face, exposing her eyes to white and pink everywhere she looked.

Mashiro took a few seconds to adjust her eyes to the light but even after her vision became clearer she wasn’t wrong. Everything in the room was in all sorts of shades of pink and a some white here and there. Not to mention, the princess bed her eyes landed on as soon as she turned her head to look around. A small but impressively looking chandelier was hanging right above her head, a big vanity mirror reflecting Ray standing behind her, eyes gleaming with anticipation, no doubt about hearing Mashiro’s thoughts on the room. But she was still too taken with it to say anything. It was a princess’ room, Mashiro thought that that was precisely how every princess’ room probably looked like. The girl smiled at Ray’s efforts, she found it rather amusing that he had chosen that kind of decor.  
Looking outside she could see the room was significantly high above the ground, maybe the second or third floor, but despite that she noticed a big garden that seemed to go around the whole building.

“I hope you like your room,” Ray spoke up. “I made it as comfortable as possible, I hope you won’t find anything missing but if you do don’t hesitate to let me know.”

“Thank you, Ray,” Mashiro turned around and gave him a smile. “I hope you’ll tell me why I was brought here.”

Ray’s smiled faltered but he nodded his gaze trailing off to look through the window.

“There are… these people. They call themselves the RFA. It’s a charity organization that holds parties to help people. And it has helped many but right now it’s inactive, it has been for six months since their leader passed away and they couldn’t hold another party without her. They wouldn’t trust me if I tell me I’d to help, so… the plan is to send you to help them instead.

“What makes you think they will trust me?”

“Because you will tell them Rika sent you,” said Ray throwing a glance at Mashiro to see her reaction. But there was nearly nothing to read from her face, just her eyes looking at him and patiently waiting for his words.

“Technically that’s not a lie”, he continued. “The truth is that I knew her. I knew Rika, I often helped her organize the more… complicated matters regarding the party and she, too, helped me a lot back then. After her death, she left me a letter asking me to find someone that could continue her work so that the RFA could remain. I’ve been searching ever since, and now I found you, Mashiro. Oh, you won’t have to talk directly to them. You see, one of the members created this magic crystal that allows you to talk with people through it. I managed to create the same and also break through his magic defenses and added your crystal. Here.”

Ray rummaged through the pocked of his robe and handed her a crystal almost as big as her hand coloured in a pale shade of pink. Right now there were six streaks of light running across the crystal’s surface.

“They must have noticed your presence,” said Ray after noticing the lights. “Those lights mean that there are members connected to the crystal. This golden streak is yours, I connected it Arcturus star so the connection’s link colour is gold.

After that Ray proceeded to explain everything about how this messenger crystal worked and repeating most of what he had said before making sure he hadn’t missed anything. He showed her his crystal and told her he will be monitoring all the conversations to make sure everything was going according to plan but assured her he would never intervene and that if they had to talk it would mostly be when he visited her as he promised he would do it as often as he could.

“The stability of the connection often becomes unstable”, he explained. “You see, I broke through the magic defenses but they replace themselves, it’s a very powerful spell, and I have to go and restore the link every few hours and the process is quite tiring and time consuming, so I apologize if I’m not able to visit you often… I know, this still seems suspicious, but I promise, as soon as you gained their trust I will reveal myself to them and tell them everything.”

Ray searched through his mind but there was nothing else to add. All that was left was her response. Although she had already said yes, Ray was still anxious. What if all of this seemed too weird to her? He was aware of the risks and even though he had tried to explain in the best way he could, Ray knew it was possible that she’d give up. Mashiro hadn’t uttered a single word and that scared him more than any words she could say.

“What if… they don’t believe me?,” she asked staring at the crystal.

“They will. I promise you. As soon as you mention Rika they will put all of their guards down. Of course, after that they will still be suspicious of you but you will win their trust. I know you can.”

A quiet sigh escaped Mashiro’s lips.

“This is really…” she stuttered. “It’s really for a good cause?”

“Yes, Mashiro. I promise you. But… you mustn’t tell them about me, and you can’t reveal them your location no matter what and they will surely want to know.”

“But why all this secrecy? I don’t understand.”

“Mashiro… Rika specifically told me to do things this way and to keep all of this a secret from them. We need to do this in secret, there are many powerful guests that the RFA always invites to their parties and soon as people know who you are you might be endanger.”

 

“Seven, what the hell is this?” Yoosung repeated at Seven’s blank stare.

“This is…”

“Hey, what’s going on?” asked Zen noticing the weird looks on the boys’ faces. “What’s with that look, Seven?”

“There’s something wrong with the crystal,” said Yoosung handing his crystal to Zen.

“What, I don’t see anything...” Zen narrowed his eyes at the crystal inspecting it more closely.”What the- Seven!”

“Assistant Kang, what is going on?” asked Jumin turning to Jaehee.”  
“I know just as much as you, Mr. Han...” returned Jaehee, slightly annoyed. “Luciel?”  
Everyone was calling out to Seven but he just continued starting at the crystal. Soon, they managed to snap him out of it and, without saying a word, he reached for his crystal in his robe. Same thing. A thin streak of gold. The wizard ordered the other members to take out their crystals and everybody quietly did so. There were a couple minutes of silence that no one seemed to want to break. The situation was unexpected and it was almost as if everybody waited for Seven to laugh in their faces and start teasing them for falling for one of this pranks once again. But that never happened.

“Everyone upstairs,” ordered Jumin. “Now.”

The tavern had a room made specifically for member meetings as rare as they were. Important things were usually discussed through the crystal, so that room was almost never used. It had been a year and a half since they had last used it. Yoosung remembered the last time. It was right after Rika’s funeral. He didn’t like that, the last memory he had of this room was a bad one and this one seemed it wouldn’t be great, either.  
Yoosung was the last one to enter the room. He closed the door behind him and looked around the room. It was dark and dusty. Dark blue draperies were covering the windows, letting in just a few thin rays of sunshine. All the members had already sat on the chairs surrounding the table placed at the center of the room, only Jaehee was walking from candlestick to candlestick lighting up the almost never lit before candles.

“Leave them,” sounded Seven’s voice. He snapped his fingers and soon enough all the candles in the room were lit. Yoosung sat down on the empty seat next to Zen, daring not to ask why they didn’t just pull the draperies.

“There is someone in the crystals,” said Seven.

“You mean it’s not you or one of us?” asked Zen.

“No.”

“How’s that even possible?” said Jaehee. “I thought only members of the association can have access to these crystals? Didn’t you make them?”

“Yeah...” Seven bit his lip, his fingers rapidly tapping on the table’s surface. “Let’s just all connect to the crystals.”

“Is that really a good idea?” asked Zen.

“This is the only logical action,” answered Jumin, his hand already hovering over the crystal. Zen let out an angry growl throwing a glance at Jumin but put his hand on the crystal.  
Soon enough all the members were connected. While arguing who should be the first talking, the stranger talked first.

Hello…?

“Oh my God,” said Zen. “Who is this?!”

“I’m trying to find out!” exclaimed Seven. He rummaged through his clothes taking out a big crystal ball and a couple of strange looking books. Then he took the ball in one hand and a book in the other and put it under the light of one of the candles while intently staring at it, his nose nearly touching the ball’s surface.

“What… is all that?” asked Yoosung.

“He’s a wizard,” noted Jumin.

“I know that! I mean-”

“Sh!” Seven interrupted. He started spinning the ball in his hand, looking at the book every few seconds.

“What are you doing?!” Zen shouted seeing Yoosung’s quill movie along the crystal’s surface.  
“I-I-I just thought I should ask them who they are at least!”

“Seven!”

But Seven didn’t even notice any of this. 

“I think it’s best you don’t do that for the time being, Yoosung,” said Jaehee.

“We should wait for Luciel,” added Jumin. “He will tell us what has to be done.”  
Yoosung frowned and reluctantly put down his quill.

“I just-”

Seven let out a loud scream of frustration, making Yoosung and Jaehee jump on their seats.

“I can’t work like this!” he said slamming another book on the table.

“I’m sorry, Seven,” said Yoosung. “I’ll keep quiet from now on.”

“No, forget that,” he said. “I’m going home. I have to check the circles, the spells and everything. I   
can’t do it from here anyway. Bye bye!”

The wizard quickly gathered up all of his things and closed his eyes.

“But Luciel-” Jaehee began but was quickly interrupted by the sparkling light that started to envelop Seven. The members closed their eyes at the sudden bright light and when they opened them the wizard was gone.

“Did he just teleport?” said Zen rubbing his eyes.

“He did...” answered Jaehee with a sigh. “Let’s hope we will hear from him soon from the crystal or through the looking mirror.”

 

It took the wizard just mere seconds to materialize back into his room in the Tower. Seven grabbed a small mirror from the shelf above his desk and put it on the pile of books in his hands taking care not to drop anything. He stepped into the other room and got on to examine the circles. They all seemed fine at first, all the signs and letters seemed to be in order. He expected them to be all broken or scattered around the room. But no, they were all glowing and functioning. Then how were the defenses broken, and even without him noticing? The wizard took out his wand and started running it through the circles, checking every sign. The two little ones seemed fine and when he started checking the big one between them, he sensed something. There were traces of someone else’s magic all over the interior of the circle. But it was covered up with a spell. Seven quickly flinched his hands away. No one knew about this magic besides him, he was the only one who could do it. He was the only with that power. Was it possible there was another one like him? What the hell was all of this? Seven shook his head. It wasn’t the time to think about things he couldn’t answer, he had to take care of this intruder. So the wizard continued inspecting the signs and soon found out the whole interior was changed. Seven let out out a sigh and reached for the mirror. He had to contact V somehow and let the members know what exactly was happening. They were probably freaking out.

“Luciel!” Jaehee was the one to activate the mirror. “What is going on?”

Seven quickly explained everything as coherently as possible while trying to find more traces of the enemy wizard.

“So he broke all of your spells?” asked Yoosung.

“Not all of them! Just… some.”

“Seems like they were enough, though,” added Jumin. “Either way, we have to deal with this stranger.”

“I already sent a message to V,” said Seven. “He should be here any minute. Now let’s talk to this person.”

Everybody turned their attention to their crystals and looked at the last message.

Is anyone here? I know you can see me.

 

“How do they know that?” asked Zen.

“The same way we know, Zen,” said Yoosung throwing him a glance.

All of the members took their turn to ask the stranger questions and every answer surprised them more than it did the other. Soon they knew she was a girl and that someone had given her a crystal and connected it to theirs.

Who gave it to you? asked Seven.  
I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that.

“We’re not getting anywhere like this,” said Jumin. “Can’t you just trace her?”  
“I’m trying, okay?”

I know you don’t trust me…

“Oh!” exclaimed Zen. “She’s going to type something!”

But I don’t want to hurt you.

It’s funny you say that when you take in mind the way you appeared, said Jaehee.

Right at that moment V joined the conversation. The members proceeded to bombard him with questions to which he tried to answer as much he possibly could without saying too much at the same time. The members had gotten used to his tendency to avoid answering questions long ago, so none of them really paid it much mind; not to mention, all of them were occupied with finding out who this intruder was. They listened to V’s quiet and kind voice flow through the crystal but he had chose not to show his face, they had almost never seen him since after Rika’s death.  
“Did you invite a new member to the organization and didn’t tell us, V?”, asked Zen.  
“No… I don’t recall ever doing that.”

“Oh, no! No way!” yelled Seven. “There’s just no way!”

The members all shot glances at him and all took their turns to ask him what the hell he was saying.

“Maybe… they’ve tracked me and found out about the crystals.”

“Who has tracked you, Luciel?” asked Jaehee, her frustration growing stronger by the minute.

“Well… haha… I kind of infiltrated a certain Circle and changed all of their magic circles in the shape of cat paws.”

“Cat paws…?” Jumin raised his eyebrows visibly intrigued.

Zen frowned and shot him a glare.

“Just what have you been doing?”

“So you are saying our organization has been put at risk because of your personal affairs?” said Jaehee her tone as cold as ice.

“Maybe… maybe not!”

“Shouldn’t you, V, as the head of our organization take some action?” said Jumin.

“I’m a having a slight meltdown myself. I never thought someone could break through Saeyoung’s defense spells.”

“Me too!” added Seven. “So I’m excited!”

“How could you say this?!” exclaimed Jaehee making Seven wince.

“I will immediately proceed to search for her identity”, he added quickly trying to sound as serious as possible.

“Shouldn’t we just ask her who she is?” asked Yoosung.

“I doubt it she’ll be honest but not a bad idea,” answered Jumin.  
Yoosung immediately picked up his quill and asked the mysterious stranger where she was.

I’ve come to tell you something good.  
I see you have no intention of revealing your identity, said Jaehee.

“Maybe she came to see me!” said Zen.

“Hyun, this is really not the most appropriate time for jokes,” V said with the kindest voice he could do.

“For once I agree with V,” added Yoosung.  
Zen made a face and was just about to say something when Jaehee interrupted him.  
“Luciel, did you find anything?”

There was silence for a few seconds until strange noises of frustration started coming out from the mirror.

“What’s wrong with this? Huh?”

“What’s wrong?” asked Yoosung.

“Were my magical powers taken from the space gods? I can’t trace the location at all!  
“Luciel...”

There are were a couple more response expressing frustration and disappointed but Jumin decide to step up as well.

Mashiro, I will change the question. For what purpose have you come here?

I came here to help you throw parties again.

It sounds like you’ve heard this from someone, concluded Jumin.

Party? Our party? You didn’t come here for me?  
Seven sounded surprised but there was a visible amount of relieve in his voice as well.

If you really did come here knowing about the parties then you’re even more suspicious, added Jaehee.

“V, what do you think?” asked Seven. “Since I can’t reveal anything about her identity for now we can cut off her access.”

“Why do you suddenly need V’s opinion on that?” said Yoosing throwing a disapproving look at V.

“Because he’s the head of the RFA,” explained Jumin.

“His recent lack of participation here makes me doubt how qualified he is for that.”

“We’re having a critical situation right now, Yoosung, you should restrain yourself from such outbursts.”

Yoosung lowered his head apologetically.

“Sorry, I just couldn’t it help after the party was mentioned.”

I was sent here by Rika.

There were some seconds of silence while everybody stared at their crystals as if making sure they were not reading it wrong. Then the room exploded with various exclamations and questions; Seven sounded as if he couldn’t believe it, Yoosung kept asking question after question, while Zen and Jaehee just sat there completely astounded, Jumin on the other hand just kept his cool as usual apart from the curiosity gleaming in his eyes.  
“You can’t cut her access!” Yoosung nearly shouted.

“I’m not going to do that. I will actually do the opposite,” said V.

“What?”

“Luciel, I want to call Mashiro through the crystal. Is it possible to connect me?”

“Well…. Uh, it’s not impossible. But really? Should I do it?”

“Yes, there’s something I want to ask her.”

“I believe you have thoroughly assessed and examined the situation since you’re taking this decision,” said Jumin.

“I appreciate your concern Jumin. There’s something I must ask Mashiro, since she says Rika was the one who has sent her here… I’d like to think Rika would want the parties to continue even when she’s gone.”

The members exchanged thoughtful looks and in the end all of them agreed with V’s decision without questioning them further.

Mashiro, I’ll call you in a bit. If Rika really did send you here I’d want parties to continue to be held.

That’s the only reason why I’m here…

Yes, I know. That is why I would want to talk and explain everything to you, just wait a bit more.

Mashiro wasn’t sure if she liked that way things had gone. She believed she had done things right so far, but how could anyone predict what could happen. Mashiro didn’t know these people and the fact that she was met with so much suspicion, was making her lose all her determination and courage. Then again Mashiro was surprised they accepted her to fill the role of this Rika person despite their apparent suspicion. Mashiro racked her brain to try and comprehend this situation and realized everything was happening because of this V. Whatever he decided it was accepted with little to no questioning; maybe it was normal considering the fact he was the head of this association but even so, taking in mind the situation, it was still odd. But there was more to it. V didn’t seem to suspect her that much at all, in fact, if anything was suspicious more than Mashiro it was his behaviour. V was ready to accept her as a new member after just this one conversation. He probably knew something, something the other members didn’t. Did he know about what was really happening? About Ray and Rika’s plans? But if he did why didn’t she meet him when she came in this place? Or maybe that call was going to clear things up…  
Doubts started to plague her mind again but she shook her head in attempt to chase them away. For now there was nothing more Mashiro could discover and the only thing to do was observe and try to get the members to trust her more.  
A deep sigh escaped her lips and at this moment she saw the crystal in her hand glow in a turquoise blue. It was V.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa, that's a lot of talking there. It was actually rather difficult to pull off and who knows if it actually turned out alright haha... Anyway, for all the peeps reading this, I hope you like it, as difficult as this was it was also fun to write.


End file.
